Amid accusations from claimant countries that China is attempting to claim to a large portion of the South China Sea, the Asian superpower has turned the tables on its accusers saying that it exercised restraint by not seizing the reefs and islands being occupied by other countries even though the maritime resources belongs to China.

Like Us on Facebook

A senior Chinese diplomat said that China has been exercising "great restraint" in the South China Sea by not brazenly grabbing islands being occupied by the other claimant countries even if it could have.

Beijing is claiming almost 95 percent of the reefs and islands in the South China Sea, dismissing the overlapping claims of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

Around $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes the disputed waters every year, reports said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to attend two regional summits this week where the South China Sea dispute will likely be tackled on the sidelines.

Washington, as well as neighboring claimant countries, have raised alarm over China's reclamation projects in the Spratlys. Recently, critics raised alarm after satellite images showed that China is building airstrips and other facilities in the artificial islands.

The White House has expressed concern that China is extending its military reach into maritime Southeast Asia, affecting the livelihood of fishermen and possibly threatening international trade.

But Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin has said that China is the real "victim" in the South China Sea imbroglio as it has lost "dozens" of its islands and reefs in the Spratlys to other claimant-countries..

In a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, Zhenmin refused to name these claimant countries but reports indicate all other claimants except Brunei have military facilities in the Spratlys.

Zhenmin said China has all right and the capability to recover the islands being illegally occupied by the neighboring countries. However, he said, so far, this has not been done because Beijing wants to maintain peace and order in the disputed waters.

President Xi is currently in Manila to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC), where talks about the tensions in the South China Sea are expected to be tackled on the sidelines.

U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Manila Monday to attend the APEC summit. He is also scheduled to attend the East Asia summit in Kuala Lumpur later this week.

Liu said China refused proposals for the South China Sea dispute to be the focus of the East Asia Summit. He expressed dismay over the fact that representative countries have vowed to raise the issue.

TagsAPEC, East Asia Summit, US President Barack OBama, Manila, military facilities, militarization, brunei, Vietnam, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, Taiwan, South China Sea Dispte APEC